


Dinner and Cards

by DreadPirateButtercup



Series: the divides that bind us [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Multi, but it doesn't happen in this one, implied future Rey/Finn/Poe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 05:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5526692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreadPirateButtercup/pseuds/DreadPirateButtercup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finn is bored to tears. Poe wants to spoil him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dinner and Cards

The med center on D’Qar was quiet. Too quiet. Finn was sure he was slowly going crazy stuck here by himself. He couldn’t go much of anywhere on his own, with his limited mobility. Rey was gone on her search for Skywalker, had been for weeks. And while Poe had been a regular visitor, he’d been absent for a few days now. It happened occasionally, when he had to go on a mission. And it was awful.

Finn thunked his head back against the wall, staring morosely out the window. He wanted to go somewhere, not be stuck in this useless boring room. He wanted to talk to someone other than the medical droids.

Footsteps echoed down the hall at a quick pace. Finn turned to look at the closed door, wondering if he’d get so lucky. They did indeed stop right outside the door, but then nothing happened for several moments. Maybe they were visiting someone across the hall? Finn shrugged and turned back to the window, telling himself he wasn’t disappointed. Then the door hissed open and he looked back around, startled. 

Poe stood there, leaning against the door jamb, his mouth tugging up in a cocky half-grin. He didn’t look nearly disheveled enough for someone who’d spent all day stuck in a cramped cockpit on a mission. There were deep circles under his eyes, though, and after holding the pose for a moment he stepped inside and slid bonelessly into the guest chair.

“Long day?” Finn relaxed back in his chair, tilting his head curiously.

“We got the job done.” Poe opened his eyes, but shook his head, frowning, at Finn’s inquiring look. “I can’t talk about it. Classified.” He paused for a moment, clearly wanting to say more.

“I get it. You don’t need to say anything.” It made sense. They’d taken his information in their hour of desperation, and it had turned out well, but that had been a last ditch gamble in the face of certain destruction. Now that they had the initiative, they could afford to play it a little more safe. Take some time to evaluate this ex-stormtrooper before letting him in on all their secrets. It was the reasonable thing to do. But Finn still felt disappointed, every time Poe gave him that sad, hidden look. He had risked his life, and been grievously injured, after all, while fighting their fight. But he wasn’t going to argue with it. It made sense.

“It didn’t go well.” Poe blew out a breath and stood suddenly. He started to pace, his steps quick and face agitated. “There were . . . unnecessary casualties. Bad information. It was--” He stopped and threw himself abruptly back into the chair, tapping his foot briskly against the cold stone floor and not meeting Finn’s eyes. 

Finn frowned, worried more by his friend's demeanor than his statement. He always looked so self-assured. Even when they’d first met and he’d been captured he had acted like things were under control. Something must have gone very wrong if he was so upset. Finn wanted to go over and . . . something. Pat him on the back, or give him a hug or . . . something. It didn’t matter what, since he couldn’t lever himself out of his chair without help, and Poe was just out of reach. He tried to think of something useful to say. Anything that would make a difference.

“I’m sure you did everything you could.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Poe looked at him, eyes tight and gleaming, mouth pinched. He barked out a harsh laugh.

“Yes, yes I did. Too much really.” He stood again and strode back to the door. He stopped just inside and turned, running a hand vigorously through his short hair. “I. I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have put this on you. Look, I’ll -- I don’t know. I’ll figure something out, and I’ll come back in the morning when I’m better company.” He turned to go, and then turned around again, finally meeting Finn’s gaze. “I never asked how you were feeling.”

Finn narrowed his eyes. He really didn’t want to lose his only company. Especially if they were both going to end up moping separately. But the last time he’d opened his mouth it had not gone well. He tried to consider his response more carefully this time.

“Stay.” That wasn’t what he’d meant to say at all. “Uh. For dinner. Stay for dinner. They’re going to bring it by soon. Have you had anything to eat since you got back?” That sounded slightly less desperate. Right? He tried to smile casually, as if he wasn’t entirely desperate for company.

“So . . . you’re terribly bored then?” Poe smirked knowingly, though his eyes still looked sad. “Must be if you want me around in this mood. You’re right, though. I haven’t eaten.” He ran his hands through his hair again, but his stance relaxed a little, and he no longer seemed on the verge of running away. “Alright. But we aren't eating here. The med center food is awful, and you need to get out.”

Finn opened his mouth to either protest or express confusion, he hadn't decided which, but Poe waved him off and ducked out into the hallway. His jaw clicked shut and he simply stared after him, baffled. He was still getting used to the idea that stormtrooper rations weren’t the norm out here in the greater galaxy. The meals brought by the medical droids were fantastic as far as he was concerned. He gave Poe a highly skeptical look when he came back bearing a pair of crutches.

“You’re talking about the same food I am, right? Those jellies, and their bread, and . . . what? Why are you laughing?” Finn’s glare brought Poe’s face back into a melancholy expression. He still had a twinkle in his eye, though, that had been lacking a few minutes before.

“I shouldn’t laugh. It’s horrible, what you went through. But I can’t wait to see your face when you try a perfectly cooked nerf steak. Come on.” He looped an arm under Finn’s and around his back, helping him up to standing, and between the two of them they managed to get the crutches situated.

“I can’t wait to see my face when I don’t have to deal with these sticks again,” Finn grumbled as they set off slowly down the corridor. Poe matched his pace, watching him carefully out of the corner of his eye while looking ahead for obstacles or doors, and keeping one steady hand on his shoulder. He would be stuck on crutches for at least another couple of weeks, the doctor had informed him, while his muscles and nerves relearned the motions. Honestly, he didn’t want to complain, now that he was finally mobile. But he was still slow and ungainly and needed help getting started, and it was endlessly frustrating. 

Finn had to admit, though, having an excuse for Poe to hold onto him the whole time was a definite benefit.

They approached a set of double doors, and when Poe touched the controls to open them, Finn had to stop for a moment to shade his eyes. The bright greens of the grass and trees beyond the landing zone were brilliant in the late afternoon sun. Farther off, the mist had cleared for once, and the distant craggy mountains were also visible. It was a welcome sight, and even after his eyes had adjusted, Finn stood still for a minute or two, just drinking it in. The Poe cleared his throat, and Finn looked back at him sheepishly.

“Right, we had a plan here. Just. Got distracted for a moment.” Finn took a quick step forwards, before realizing he had no idea which direction they were headed.

“You can keep looking at it while we walk. It’s a little ways to the barracks.” Poe gestured towards a low-lying building nearly buried under the roots of one of the huge trees, while keeping his other hand resting heavily on Finn’s shoulder, encouraging him to take it slow. “I should probably have brought it to you instead of making you walk all this way, but --”

“Nah, I needed to get out. It was getting incredibly stuffy in there.”

“That’s, yeah, pretty much what I was thinking.” Poe grinned at him, and Finn couldn’t help but smile back. It was a good feeling, just knowing they were on the same page. Knowing that somebody cared enough about him to think of what he would want, rather than just what would be good for his recovery. The doctors and medical droids gave him plenty of attention, but it was a strictly professional sort of attention. This, in contrast, made him feel warm and relaxed all the way through.

Feeling too content in each other’s company to break the silence, they walked slowly to the barracks. Finn closed his eyes to simply breathe in the wonderful fresh air of growing things. It was a pleasant contrast to the cold corridors and colder snowy landscapes of Starkiller base. Here everything felt like it was about to burst with life, and he reveled in it. When he opened his eyes, he saw Poe watching him, a slight smile on his face. He ducked his head, a little embarrassed to be caught acting so sentimental. But then, maybe that wasn’t the crime it would have been as a stormtrooper. Maybe it was okay, here, to simply enjoy life and see the beauty in it. He grinned wide and took a deep breath in through his nose, releasing it as a contented sigh.

“This is a good place. I could be okay staying here for quite a while.”

“Yeah. It’s a shame to have to leave.”

Finn turned sharply to look at Poe again, shocked. “Wait, what?”

“The First Order knows our location. We’ve set them back a bit, so we have a little time to regroup, but we’re going to be heading out in the next couple days.” He looked at Finn, eyebrows drawn in dismay. “You didn’t know. No one told you.” He rubbed a hand over his face and stopped walking for a moment, gripping Finn’s shoulder uncomfortably tight. Finally he came around and stood in front of Finn, staring into his eyes, a hand on each shoulder. His gaze didn’t waver, but he did look sad. “I won’t leave you behind. I don’t know what they’re thinking, leaving you that far out of the loop, but I promise you, I will make sure there is a place for you here, for however long you want to stay.” 

“It’s okay. Really, Poe, I’m fine. I understand why they’re cautious about me.” It still hurt, but he understood. There was no reason to be upset about it. The thought of being deserted, though, that did sting. But maybe it was the right thing to do. “You shouldn’t stick your neck out about this. I don’t want you to get in trouble for helping somebody they think is a traitor.” He was a traitor. He didn’t feel much like one. Felt no remorse at all, actually. The First Order had forced him to do their bidding, but he’d never felt any loyalty to them. Still, he was, technically, a traitor. And would happily be one again to the Resistance if it was necessary to keep his friends safe. Maybe he ought to go on the run by himself so he didn’t bring any more First Order wrath down on them. Poe wasn’t buying any of that, though. Even as natural as Finn was at lying, he couldn’t convince Poe when he was staring at him this closely.

“I’m not going anywhere without you. I’ll go have a talk with the General right now. She probably doesn’t even know about this.” He finally looked away, continuing to mumble to himself. Finn blinked at him, then reached up and grabbed his wrist, gently drawing his attention back.

“Poe. We’re on a mission. I’m hungry. You’re hungry. Let’s get something to eat and figure this out later.”

Poe looked back up at him, surprised for a moment, before stepping back and straightening up. He nodded awkwardly and patted Finn’s shoulders.

“Right. Need to get you fed up. Okay. Yeah. It can wait ‘til morning. That’s fine.” They resumed their previous walk, but it didn’t feel quite so comfortable now. Finn’s mind was racing, worrying about his near future. Guessing from his occasional glances over at Poe, he was thinking just as hard. It was frustrating, but Finn didn’t know how to break the silence, when he couldn’t think of anything but the looming end of . . . whatever this calm period between the storms had been. It had been boring, for certain. But long hours resting and easy conversations with Poe, and even the occasional pleasant chat with a doctor or the General had been a nice interlude. That time was about up, now, though. And he abruptly found himself once again with no idea where the future might lead. Thankfully they came up on the barracks before his thoughts became too anxious to bear.

This time there was no double door and he had to carefully maneuver his crutches through the small doorway, but with Poe holding it open it was manageable. Once inside, Finn blinked around, getting used to the cool dimness in comparison to the brilliance of the outdoors. They were in a common room of sorts, a familiar concept to Finn. Although this was was significantly more comfortable and less immaculate than the stormtrooper common rooms had been. Beyond the lounge there was a small kitchen area with a dining table. A rodian lounged on one of the chairs reading a datapad, and a woman sat on the floor messing with a sabacc deck. She looked up and waved carelessly at them before turning back to her mysterious task. The rodian stood up and walked over to give Poe a quick hug, followed by a short string of words in a language Finn couldn’t understand. Then he patted him on the shoulder and walked out. When Finn turned back, Poe looked miserable. His face was creased with the same troubled look as when he’d first come by the med center. When he noticed Finn looking he wiped it away, giving Finn his full attention.

“How are you managing? Are you okay to keep sitting up?” Poe’s look of concern touched Finn in unexpected ways. He still felt the pressure of his training to keep going beyond all reason, but Poe’s concern somehow gave him permission to stop. His back and legs were aching from the unaccustomed movement, but he was realizing that it was okay to stop and rest. He nodded, even allowing himself a little grimace.

“I’m doing okay. But . . . maybe one of those chairs that lays back a little. I could use the support. If that’s okay?” He was not sure at all how to handle a situation like this. Poe seemed not to be bothered by his weakness, though. He just nodded and helped him get situated in the reclining chair nearest the kitchen, an intense, worried look on his face the whole time. Once he had triple checked that Finn was comfortable and not in need of anything immediately, he stepped back and turned in a slow circle, surveying the kitchen.

“Right, what was I . . . oh yeah. You said you never had a steak?”

“No steaks! You always set off the fire alarm!” The woman on the floor piped up. 

“That was only . . . “ He paused and thought for a moment. “Twice? It only happened twice!”

“You forgot about the time you left it going because we got called out on a mission!”

“I’ll make you one, too.”

She appeared to consider this for a moment before nodding. “You may proceed.” She turned back to her game, apparently content to ignore him again. Poe continued glaring at her in mock anger, but she seemed undeterred.

“Finn, this is Jess. She’s one of the pilots from Blue Squadron. Doesn’t appreciate my cooking.” He made a pouty face, and Finn nearly choked. That was disastrously attractive. His brain spun, momentarily useless, but he was saved from having to reply by Jess speaking up again.

“I appreciate the finished product. You make better grub than any of the rest of these layabouts. It’s your technique that leaves something to be desired.” She looked up at him again and stuck out her tongue. They continued to banter back and forth as Poe fished various instruments and biological specimens out of the cupboards and cooling unit. Finn watched uncomfortably. The process and materials were all completely foreign to him. Culinary skills were not considered necessary for a stormtrooper, and while he had realized that food usually came from biological products of some sort or another, he’d never really had to consider what that meant.

Aside from the slightly disturbing process happening in front of him, the pilots’ friendly banter was making his chest tight with jealousy. They were so at ease with each other, knowing how to tease without causing any actual pain, having a history together. They were both pilots, and understood each others’ lives. He’d never had that ease of interaction with the other stormtroopers he’d trained with. Even though he'd known them nearly their entire lives, he'd always felt a little excluded. His escape with Poe had been the first time he’d really connected with anyone on that level. And here he was being reminded that Poe had plenty of other friends he could chat with just as easily, who were more comfortable with his world, and had similar experiences. Finn had Rey, too, of course. But those were his only two people in the entire galaxy. He didn’t particularly feel like sharing Poe with anyone else.

Sunk in his contemplation, Poe had to call his name several times before he responded. He looked up abruptly. Poe was leaning over the counter looking at him. For once he didn’t look concerned, for which Finn was grateful. He was just looking at him with amusement, an eyebrow raised expectantly.

“You here now?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Just . . . lots to process. What’s up?”

“We were wondering if you’d played sabacc before.” Jess spoke up from the floor. She waved the cards in front of her face. “Care to join me for a match? You don’t have to get out of the chair.”

“Yes.” Finn grinned wide, his jealousy slipping away for the moment. Part of his not doing a great job making friends in the First Order had probably been due to destroying his squad mates at the sabacc table. Not that they had much to gamble, but they could occasionally manage to swap shifts despite Phasma’s watchful eye. Finn had managed to get out of plenty of garbage chute duties that way. He gestured magnanimously at the chair next to him. “Please, show me what you’ve got.”

The rules Jess was familiar with were a little different than the ones he’d played, but the general idea was the same, and several hotly contested hands followed, accompanied by squeals of delight and moans of disappointment. Finn kept glancing over at Poe whenever Jess took too long to choose a card. Sometimes he'd be doing something to the food or washing up, but often he was just standing there watching them with a small, private smile on his face. Finn wanted to ask what he was thinking, but each time Poe caught him looking he'd just flash a quick grin and turn back to his task. 

Soon amazing smells and disturbing sounds began emanating from the little kitchen. Amid growling stomachs and a few worried looks, Jess helped Finn up and they moved over to lean on the counter. A few large brown lumps hissed and crackled in the pan on the stove, but Poe didn't appear worried, so Finn assumed this must be an expected part of the preparations. A number of colorful chunks of . . . something or other sat on a large plate near the stove, dusted with reddish brown flakes, and a pile of green and blue leaves filled a large bowl. Finn stared at them doubtfully. 

“Are you sure this is definitely edible?”

Jess snorted with laughter and elbowed him gently, but Poe gave her a glare and she subsided without comment. He turned his attention back to Finn. 

“You are going to love this. I am going to spoil you until you can never look at ration bars the same way again!” His grin was smug now. “Go sit down, I’ll bring them over.”

Finn and Jess got themselves situated at the table as Poe plated the food and brought it over. He set the plates down in front of them and then stood back, leaning his forearms on the back of the chair in front of him and watching Finn eagerly. Despite the food’s dubious origins, it certainly did smell good. He grabbed a fork and knife and cut a little piece of the steak off, then chewed carefully. His eyes fell shut as the new flavors and textures nearly overwhelmed his senses. He couldn’t even tell what was going on in his mouth, but whatever it was was amazing.

“Emperor’s balls, this is good.” Finn moaned softly, opening his eyes and looking at Poe with reverence.

Poe’s eager grin spread until his face looked about to crack open, and then he buried his head in his arms and collapsed into giggles. Finn just turned his nose up at him and went back to savoring his meal. After a moment Poe’s shoulders stopped shaking and he looked up at Finn, just watching him take pleasure in the meal. His grin slipped into a small smile of contentment. He moved over so he stood directly in front of Finn, bent over and kissed him on the forehead.

“You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen,” he murmured softly. Then he turned and went back to the kitchen, chuckling a little and muttering under his breath, “Emperor’s balls. Really.”

Finn watching him go, stunned into open mouthed shock, completely forgetting about the most amazing meal of his life in the face of an even bigger development. He had seriously just been kissed, for the first time in his life, and then Poe had called him “beautiful”? Not even just plain old beautiful, but “the most beautiful”! That . . . that was something. Finn wasn’t sure what. Was he being teased? He knew Poe had a tendency to tease people, but that seemed like a rather cruel joke. Surely he would have realized that. Did he actually think Finn was beautiful? And he’d kissed him! That was definitely a thing that was happened. He was pretty sure of that. On the forehead, but Finn had never even been kissed on the forehead, as far as he knew. He didn’t know how to process this. Meanwhile Poe hummed in the kitchen as he took some glasses out of the cupboard and a few bottles out of the cooling unit, seemingly unaware of Finn’s predicament.

Finn looked over at Jess, wondering if she could corroborate his experiences. She was simply looking back and forth between the two of them, biting her lip and trying not to laugh. Apparently her steak was forgotten as well.

“Did that really just happen?” he whispered to her, wide eyed.

“Pretty sure it did. You’ve got yourself a demonstrative one, there.” Her eyes twinkled, and she failed to conceal a snicker. She pointed at his plate. “Now eat your steak, or I will!” She took her own advice and dug back into the meal. Finn looked down at his, but couldn’t quite seem to get his brain to stop spinning long enough to remember how to use a fork.

Poe wandered back over just then, with three glasses filled to the brim. “Jess, a Corellian Ale for you! I bartered it off of Chewbacca, and he’s a mean haggler, so you’d better enjoy it. And one for me as well, because I cooked! And for Finn . . . a muja juice. Because ale and painkillers don’t go well together. Sorry about that buddy.” He shrugged apologetically, but his grin was infectious. Finn, still stunned, was unable to resist, and simply grinned back.

“Juice is good.” Well, that was the height of inanity, but he couldn’t think of anything better at the moment. Finally he turned back to his food and put all his attention into eating and enjoying it as best he could, mostly to keep himself from just staring at Poe for the rest of the meal.

 

A couple of hours later, Finn was beginning to feel himself relax again. Poe hadn’t done anything else too surprising, and they’d played a few more rounds of sabacc, with Finn and Jess conspiring to wipe Poe completely out. Luckily for him they were only playing for the candied nuts Jess had shared with them for dessert. Deprived of his sugar rush, Poe finally stood and stretched, calling an end to the evening. Finn stretched, too, feeling the ache all down his back, punishment for the long walk over here. And now he had to walk all the way back. He grimaced at the thought. Poe caught his expression and reached over to put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, how are you feeling. That’s quite a walk for you yet. Are you up to heading back?” He looked a little concerned, a little disappointed, although Finn wasn’t sure why.

“I can make it. Gotta get back, or the doctor will be all worried about me. Right?”

“Right, yeah. Gotta get you back. Just give me a sec.” Poe turned away to the kitchen and bent down to rummage around in the cupboards again, but Finn caught a definite frown on his face this time. He turned to Jess with raised eyebrows, looking for an explanation. She simply shook her head and raised her hands.

“Nope, I’m not touching that. You all are gonna have to figure that one out for yourselves.” She picked herself up off the ground and walked over to Poe, punching his shoulder gently. “Thanks for the meal, delicious as always! I’ll see you around tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you heading to bed? ‘Night!” He waved her off before turning back to the cupboard. Finn couldn’t go anywhere without some help getting out of his chair, so he simply relaxed back and watched Poe as he worked, trying to figure him out. Did he want Finn not to go back to the med center? There really wasn’t a place for him to sleep here, but he had to admit that long walk did not sound like a nice way to end the evening. What was he missing?

“Poe?”

“You okay?” Poe’s head appeared again immediately, peering at him with a worried expression.

“Yeah, fine. I mean . . . sore, but yeah, I’m okay. Just. Did you have another idea?”

Poe tilted his head and just looked at him for a minute. Finally he ran his hands through his hair and then bent over so his elbows rested on the counter. He bit his lip and hesitated another moment before answering. Finn watched all of this with badly concealed apprehension. By the time Poe finally sighed and began to speak, while staring intently down at his hands, Finn was tense all over again.

“If you didn’t want to walk all the way back this late, I was going to suggest that you could take my bed for the night. I’ve got a sleeping bag for missions, and I really don’t want you to stress your back out.” He rubbed his eyes, radiating frustration. “I don’t want to pressure you to feel like you need to stay or anything. I should have just made sure you got back earlier, but you seemed like you were having fun and . . .” He trailed off with a shrug, but finally looked up to meet Finn’s eyes. Finn felt a little bubble of happiness swell in his chest. Poe, who always seemed so confident and brash, was worried about offending him. But he didn’t want to make him wait any longer than necessary. He glanced at the door, shrugged and grinned back at Poe.

“Let’s do it!”

Poe seemed a little taken aback. His eyes widened and he straightened up abruptly, whacking his head on the bottoms of the cabinets overhead. He stepped back, and rubbed his head, casting glares of mock offense as Finn collapsed in giggles. 

“You shush. Ow.”

“Your face! You’re such an amazing pilot, and then down on the ground - Boom! I’m sorry, that did look like it hurt, but . . .” Finn lost the ability to speak as he was once again overwhelmed by laughter. Poe failed to maintain his glare in the face of that much giddiness, and settled for rolling his eyes. 

“You do not get any more sugar before bed. That was obviously a bad idea.” He moved back over to the chair and held out a hand to help Finn up. Finn reached up and grabbed it, and between the two of them they managed to wrestle him out of the recliner despite Finn’s shaking with laughter.

When he was finally standing, Finn’s laughter died slowly away. His back was aching, but more importantly, Poe was standing very close, holding onto him with both hands to keep him steady, and watching him like he couldn’t look away. Finn found himself fighting the urge to pull Poe’s head down so he could give him a kiss on the spot where he’d hit it, but he was sure that was definitely outside the bounds of normal friendship. Probably. But it did sound like a very nice activity to engage in. Reluctantly he dragged his eyes away.

“You’re right. It’s definitely time to be getting to bed.”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

Neither moved for another moment, before Poe finally released Finn and moved to grab his crutches. Finn put out a hand to hold him back. 

“It isn’t far, right? Why don’t I just lean on you, and we can pretend those things aren’t necessary for a little while?” Finn wasn’t sure if that was an acceptable thing to request, but he’d used up most of his resolve fighting down that last inappropriate gesture, and he really didn’t want to use those crutches any more today. Poe’s arm around his shoulders would just be a nice bonus. Poe didn’t seem to take offense, regardless. He just gave him another of those small, private smiles, and heaved Finn’s near arm over his shoulder, wrapping his arm around Finn’s back.

“You good?”

Finn nodded, and they hobbled carefully the few steps down the hall to the first door on the right. Poe used his elbow to press the controls and the door hissed open smoothly. It was a larger room than Finn had expected, with room for a bed and desk and a couple of comfortable chairs. There was a mess of paperwork on the desk, and a few shirts crumpled on the end of the bed, which just made it feel a little more like a place Poe actually lived. He wanted to take some more time to look around, but that short walk without crutches had actually been a very bad idea and he desperately needed to lie down now. He lurched in that direction, and Poe came along with him, gently lowering him down onto the mattress.

“Oh, that’s definitely better. Are you sure you’re alright sleeping on the floor? Because I’m pretty sure I’m never moving again.”

Poe gave him a wry grin.

“Yeah, you can stay there as long as you want.”

 

The night went on, but Finn couldn’t sleep. He forced himself to remain still so as not to wake Poe with his tossing and turning, but his mind was racing out of control. This evening had been quietly spectacular, and he couldn’t stop replaying the highlights over and over again in his head. It was mostly a pleasant way to spend the time if he couldn’t sleep, but something was bugging him. When he heard Poe turn over in his sleeping bag, he wondered if maybe he was having a hard time sleeping, too. Finn whispered his name as quietly as he could.

“What’s up?” the whispered reply came back clearly in the silent room.

Finn pursed his lips, not really sure he wanted to admit this. But he needed to get it out in the open, and he trusted Poe. He took a deep breath, and blurted it out.

“That was my first kiss. Well, the first time I’d been kissed. This evening.”

There was silence for a moment, then a gentle rustling sound. Poe’s face appeared, barely visible in the darkness, as he knelt by the edge of the bed. His features were solemn, and he still didn’t speak right away. When he did, the words came out hesitantly.

“No, it wasn’t. At least . . . Rey did the same thing, right before she left. Kissed you on the forehead, I mean.”

“Oh.” Finn paused for a long time, thinking about her, wishing she hadn’t had to leave. “I miss her.”

“She’ll come back. I don’t know how long this Jedi business takes, but she’ll come back.” Poe’s expression was intense. “I saw how much time she spent with you in the med center, waiting for you to wake up. She wouldn’t have left at all if the General hadn’t threatened to sell the Millenium Falcon if she didn’t take it and find Skywalker.” His eyebrows knit together. “I’m pretty sure that was an empty threat. But I know she’ll come back for you.”

Finn smiled and relaxed. She would come back, and he would have both his friends together again. That would be good. Poe’s face still looked worried, though, hovering there in the darkness. Finn grinned at him.

“I liked it.”

Poe blinked, then smiled back. He leaned forward and kissed Finn again on the forehead, reaching over to pat his shoulder.

“Good night.”

“Good night.”


End file.
